The universe existed as a multiverse however..
Ye Yang, Male, 20 years old. An undergraduate student. He spent some time after graduation as a sales associate in a clothing store but has since been laid-off. The increased financial pressure forced him to make a difficult decision: to search for another job in City H or to go back to his hometown.
In his opinion, he did not want to give up so easily. To live in a major metropolitan like City H was his dream since he was a child, and it was also what his parent's expected. For someone that did not experience the world yet, he was eager to explore what the world had to offer.
However, he knew that the journey would be difficult. He got drunk. It was the first time since graduation where he drank alone till he passed out. After he let out all his frustration and sorrow, dizziness struck his head, and he became immediately unconscious. An unknown light object directly hit his both arm and fused with it. It disappeared as quickly as it has appeared. It was almost as if it never existed in the first place. Then, he discovered a peculiar ability - time and dimensional travel
Of course, it took him several days before he realized it.
The strange looking pattern surrounded his right and left wrist like a gate. If one examined it carefully, the bracelet was shaped like an odd looking black tattoo.
Then it obviously something was wrong because he never had a tattoo. He did not know why he became the chosen one. However, he understood at that moment, this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Time travel? Dimensional travel? He didn't have enough knowledge to understand these strange phenomenas. But one time he was struck by lighting and felt completely fine.
That was when he discovered the tattoo's empty bar filled up after absorbing around 100 voltages of power. Then, it met the requirements to perform "multiverse travel." Multiverse travel itself costed half of the energy. Therefore, completely filling 100 voltages of electricity would allow for a round trip through time and dimensions at the expense of around 50 dollars. It was very economical. Not only did the tattoo had the ability to travel, but it also contained an alternative dimension that he could visit at any time. Hence, it was a storage dimension roughly one square meter cubed size. But because it costed energy to store and retrieve items, Ye Yang preferred to use a backpack to store items. If he was not careful and lost the means to charge the energy in the forgotton-land, then there was no way to come home.
Jiang Chen had a feeling that the energy storage could be upgraded, including the storage dimension. The functionality definitely could also be improved. He just didn't understand how at the moment. Charging the power was simple. Ye Yang only needed to put his finger into an electric socket. Although this was not aesthetically pleasing in any way, it was perfect for getting the job done. How did he figure out? Like mentioned before, it was completely by accident.
The first time he time traveled, he found himself in an abandoned mansion. The dust covered bed along with the corroded furniture spelled the timeliness of the place. He checked his surroundings as he began examining this timeworn house. With the information from a half-broken storage tape and old newspapers lying around, he gained some partial understanding of this world.
This world was a parallel universe similar to earth. However, the technology was clearly far more advanced. High rise buildings spanned across the landscape, but there were no traces of any civilization. Zombies and mutants occupied the once busy streets. Ye Yang did not dare to step out without a weapon after all this not earth.
The time was the year 2290; the location was still City H. However, the difference between the two time periods was night and day. The year 2190, global warming intensified. Excessive extraction caused shortages in all kinds of resources. An economic crisis ensued.
The year 2164, a political crisis in Poland triggered a war between Europe and China. The red army began invading westwards. The global politics, as a result, were in a tense period. It was worth mentioning that in this parallel universe, USSR was not dissolved in 1991, hence the global politics were divided into three organizations. First, US-led alliances known as NATO, a Soviet-led Europa known as CCCP, and lastly, the Chinese formed PCA with the Southeast Asian countries. The rest of the forces remained independent.
The year 2171, the tension on Europa escalated as the CCCP declared war on the PCA. Both parties accused the others of initiating the warfare which caused the start of the third world war.
In the same winter, China and Japan launched a naval war over the conflict in the South China Sea. NATO and CCCP declared cooperation as fires spread across Asia. That year, Mongolia experienced a political crisis which caused further escalation between CCCP and PCA, with both sides amassing tremendous firepower on the borders.
The year 2172, the first nuclear weapon was detonated by the CCCP in Paris, which officially brought the third world war into tactical nuclear warfare.
The year 2173, this modern warfare was in a surprising stalemate. The entire world experienced nuclear fallout as the habitable, without a doubt, received significant destruction. The nuclear winter covered 80% of the land in snow. Nobody thought that such an ironic cause would end global warming. Refugees, starvation, diseases were all symptoms of this modern warfare. It only took two years to destroy humanity entirely. The total economic losses far exceeded the combined losses of the previous world wars. Due to this, peace came without a decisive victory for either side. Everyone knew that if the war continued, no one would survive.
New Year 2174, a peace treaty was negotiated and enacted. "Habitat Revitalization Program" was established to remove nuclear fallout. All nations participated in the funding of the program.
Fall of year 2174, the United Nations announced the abortion of the ""Habitat Revitalization Program" as the cells used to remove nuclear waste experienced uncontrolled mutation. At the same time, due to the attack by unknown militants, the mutated cells began to spread into major cities. The infected humans turned into zombies, as the human civilization entered a biological apocalypse. The law and order that once governed civilization, shattered in days.
The year 2176, The United Nations sent six colony exploration ships towards Kepler B in Alpha Centauri. These ships contained the last hope for civilization. These ships were meant to plant a seed in the universe, in hopes of finding a new world. However, this was completely irrelevant for the humans still fighting on the ground.
In the same year, the United Nations were dissolved.
The information contained in the newspaper only lasted till the year 2176. The remainder of the news came from an ancient diary. From the electronic clock that still ticked in the drawer, the time was June 2190. By coincidence, the world he lived in was also June.
But within this timeline, civilization destroyed itself in just five years
After he had made a brief stop, Ye Yang chose to return to the modern world. There were too many unknown dangers that it would be unwise to continue. He must first be thoroughly prepared.
After he had rested for two days, he bought a box of canned food, a box of sausages, and a box of instant noodles. Even if he did not consider staying overnight at the dangerous place, he brought three days of food, just to be safe.
The zombies during the day time seemed to have lost the majority of their powers. It eased the exploration in that area, as Ye Yang carefully stepped across the middle of the street. He avoided the area concentrated with zombies before he found a mansion.
The high wall and Iron Gate made it look very safe. The yellow grass on the ground made the place look fairly outdated. The marble sculptures by the gate were no longer recognizable due to the corrosion from the acid rain. It was evident that the world was filled with pollution. As to why he chose this place in particular? The answer was quite obvious. The rich looking mansion would contain some valuable items. To his surprise, he did not find anything valuable, but he did find a girl that was almost starved to death. Maybe it was because of the girl's beauty that caused him to put his guard down, or because of his experience from the civilized world that made him not think about the possible danger. When he saw the despair in the girl's eyes, she looked so powerless. He took out a bottle of water from his bag and fed her the water slowly.
[Saving the girl is the most important priority because maybe she will marry me in the end?]
Immediately, Ye Yang took out the curry chicken from his bag. After the girl had smelled the aroma from the can, the same wimpy eyes looked at Ye Yang filled with despair. He was a virgin himself, so there was no way he could have resisted the seduction, especially when a beautiful girl gazed at him with her watery eyes. He felt a wave of joy both spiritually and physically. So he took out his spoon in good heart and began feeding the girl with the flawless body.
After… well, there was nothing after.
Ye Yang deeply regretted his decision.
The girl's action accurately defined the story of the farmer and the snake.
After going through a couple of pieces of bread and a canned curry chicken, the girl whipped out the pistol without hesitation. She pressed the gun against Ye Yang's forehead as Ye Yang was shocked in place. She then skillfully tied him onto the chair, as she interrogated Ye Yang with what once belong to the former mansion owner, the whip.
Now, Ye Yang realized what it meant to be carrying a full bag of food. He was fortunate that he met Sun Jiao who still had some conscience. If he instead met some cannibals or slave traders, he probably would have ended up as either food or product.
Of course, Ye Yang could always activate the tattoo and travel back, but that meant his biggest secret would be exposed. If this girl "camped spawn," then he could face even more danger.
He did not want to give up this "treasure land."
Also, it took time to activate the time travel function. If the girl realized that something was wrong, there was no guarantee that she would not pull the trigger.